History's Door
by nikyjlo101
Summary: A sequel of sorts to my previous story: Oh, Dear. It's Jenny and Kate's birthdays. Jenny and Gibbs get sucked in to telling a story about Kate's birth and the events leading up to it. The evening may also end in a little surpirse! Jibbs and Tate as well as Abby/McGee and Ziva/OC


**Happy Holidays! I'm SO very sorry I haven't been posting and honestly I have no good excuse! Please read and review! **

It was a warm, early June evening and the Gibbs house was lit up brightly, the driveway full of cars. The backyard was filled with friends and laughter. The team was over celebrating Kate's 19th birthday as well as Jenny's 44th birthday. Kate had just finished her freshman year at George Washington University. Her intention was to double major Criminal Justice and Psychology but she still wasn't sure. Kate and Tony were still going strong and had just recently celebrated their 1 year anniversary. Since Tony and Kate announced their relationship officially, McGee and Abby had started dating and Ziva had a "male friend" but was still unwilling to let her family meet him quite yet.

Everyone was crowded around Jenny and Gibbs, in a circle, trying to convince them to tell some stories.

"Gibbs, tell us about when Kate was born, please." Abby pleaded

"Abs….." Gibbs sighed

"Yeah mom I want to know too." Kate piped up from her spot on Tony's lap.

"Me too boss." Tony threw in after his girlfriend

"It is quite an interesting story, Jennifer." Ducky said smugly

"What! Why does Ducky know?" Kate asked

Jenny sighed and looked at her husband, who in turn just shrugged his shoulders, "Go ahead and tell them, Jen."

"Alright, I think the best place to start would be around the time we got married. When Jethro finished his tour with the Marines he joined NCIS. As soon as he had a place rented and put together I moved in with him and got a job as a secretary at a law firm. The apartment we shared in Arlington was very," Jenny paused trying to think of an accurate description, "Hmm… how about we call it interesting."

Gibbs snorted, "Jen, that place was a crap shack."

"It may have been a little crappy, but we were broke. After about a year of living in DC we got married. As aforementioned we were broke so we just spent our honeymoon locked in our apartment for a weekend spent only in the bedroom."

"Jen, that's personal!" Gibbs said cutting her off.

"Juicy details make the story better!" Jenny replied stubbornly

"How much have you had to drink?"

"Like one glass of wine, Jethro. Sometimes it's good to let loose."

"Thank God you don't do that now." Kate said relief leaking into her voice.

A wicked grin spread across Jenny's face, "Who says we don't do that now?"

Kate involuntarily shuddered, "That's so gross mom! But it would explain why I sometimes don't see you when I pop home unannounced."

"Jenny, how about we stop talking about our sex life and you continue with the story." Gibbs said feeling rather embarrassed.

"The first thing we agreed on when we got married was no kids at least for awhile. We weren't ready or able to care for a child. We figured we would think about kids 3 or 4 years in the future. Our first year of marriage flew by with very little problems. For our 1 year anniversary we went back to Stillwater to spend a long weekend with Jack. The Saturday we were there we went out to celebrate at the bar with some of Jethro's high school friends, which may have led to us getting a little drunk. It was a rather warm September so after the bar closed Jethro and I drove out to the lake and that was where we woke up," Jenny quickly changed the subject, "All in all it was a rather uneventful weekend."

Gibbs snorted again, "I think uneventful was the understatement of the century, Jen."

Kate was the first to connect the dots, "Wait a second. You got married when you were 24 so at your first anniversary you would've been 25," Kate did some quick math, "I was born on your 26th birthday and your wedding anniversary in September is pretty much 8 months to the day I was born in June. I was conceived that weekend wasn't I?"

Gibbs looked thoughtful for a second, "Yep, in the bed of my old pick-up truck if I remember correctly."

"That's actually kinda cool that you know that." Kate admitted.

"Katie, I hate to rain on your parade but don't pregnancies last for 9 months?" Tony pointed out

"Normally they do last for 9 months, but it seemed that Caitlin liked to surprise her parents from the start," Ducky said, "Now, Jennifer, how about you continue with the story."

"It was just before Christmas when I started getting these weird dizzy spells. About every day or so I would feel like I was going to faint, but I never did. Well, until the last day before Christmas vacation. I fainted while I was at work. And when I woke up I was in the hospital and Jethro was sitting in the room with me. We waited for what seemed forever. The doctor eventually came in and gave me a diagnosis. I was pregnant and had a rather severe case of anemia. He then proceeded to prescribe me some iron supplements and sent me home with instructions to find an OBGYN after the holidays."

"You were just dizzy? No throwing up?" Ziva questioned

"I didn't throw up once my entire pregnancy."

"Wow. I hope I'm that lucky, I hate throwing up." Kate said hopefully

At that statement Gibbs looked up from his drink and looked directly at Kate and Tony, "Well you won't be finding out for a very long time if you're lucky or not. I'm too young to be a grandpa."

Kate rolled her eyes, "It's not like Tony and I are going to go home tonight and try for a baby, Dad."

"Anyway back to the story," Jenny began, "After finding out I was pregnant we kind of functioned like robots. We packed the car and headed for Stillwater during which we probably only said three things to each other. By the time we had gotten to Stillwater I was an emotional wreck."

_**Flashback **_

___Jenny was staring blankly out the car window and had barely noticed that they had pulled up the driveway of Jack's house. Jack came out and greeted the couple before helping them with their things. He had picked up on the tension between the two but had decided to leave it alone for the time being. _

_ Jenny watched as her husband and father-in-law brought in the last of their bags before the emotions of the day hit her like a tidal wave. She sank to the first porch step, buried her head in her hands and cried. Jack stepped back onto the porch and was slightly shocked by Jenny. He walked over to her and rested a kind hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to get Jethro?"_

_ Jenny nodded minutely before crying harder. Jack squeezed her shoulder before venturing back into the house. Gibbs settled down next to Jenny on the stair, pulled her close to his side and rested his head on hers and waited for her to calm down. _

_ Jenny slipped her hand into Gibbs' before starting shakily, "I know this wasn't exactly how we wanted this to work out, but I'm excited and thrilled and admittedly rather scared. But I need to know how you feel about this. I don't care if you're angry or upset I just need to know."_

_ "Jen," Gibbs said lifting her chin gently so her eyes met his, "I could never ever be angry. You're having a baby- our baby. Sure this is a surprise, a very unplanned one, but a surprise nonetheless. I'm sorry I've been rather silent since this afternoon; I was just a little shocked. You've made me one of the happiest men on earth, I promise."_

_ Gibbs stood and pulled Jenny up with him before wrapping her in a tight hug. Jenny pulled back slightly and cupped his face in her hands. "We're having a baby, Jethro." Jenny said, a bright smile taking over her face._

_ Gibbs smiled and kissed Jenny passionately. The two pulled apart for air a minute or two later._

_ "I love you, Jen."_

_ "I love you too, Jethro."_

_ Jenny let out a squeal of surprise when Gibbs lifted her off of her feet and spun her around. Both were smiling and laughing happily, elated by the news of a baby. Once Jenny's feet were back on solid ground she unzipped her coat and started to lift up her sweater but was cut off by an alarmed Gibbs, "Jen, what are you doing?"_

_ "I want to see if I can feel the baby." She said as she rested her had against her bare stomach. Her eyes misted over and she looked up at him."I can feel a very small bump."_

_ "Really?" Gibbs questioned as he stepped towards his wife and rested his cold hand on her stomach. Jenny pushed down lightly on his hand. Pure happiness rushed thru Gibbs' veins as he felt their baby. He was about to kiss her when Jack opened the door._

_ "You two done fighting yet? Dinners getting cold."_

_ "Yeah, Dad, we are good."_

_**End Flashback**_

__"That weekend we came to terms with the fact that we were going to be parents in about 7 month's time. As soon as we returned to Arlington and work we stared looking for a house. There was no way we were raising a baby in our current apartment. We did eventually find a house just outside of Arlington. Before we knew it 6 months had past. I had officially entered my 8 month about a week before my birthday. A rather large hurricane was making its way up the East Coast and the storm was barley going to clip Stillwater. Jethro felt it would be safer if I was there instead of at home. The evening before my birthday Jethro was going to take me out before we headed to Jack's. Before we even left the house Mike Franks called and ordered Jethro to come in to the office."

"He did not order me to come in Jen, he merely requested." Gibbs clarified

"Right, at that time you were Mike Franks' bitch." Jenny smirked

Gibbs glared at Jenny, "I was not! I was just trying to solidify my position at NCIS."

"After 3 years?"

"Jen, just finish the damn story."

"I feel like I should mention that Director Morrow had closed NCIS for the duration of the hurricane, but as it appeared Mike listened even less than Jethro does."

"Jen…." Gibbs growled

"Aw I'm sorry sweetie. Teasing you can be so easy sometimes." Jenny kissed his cheek before continuing with the story.

"Jethro didn't want me staying home so he dragged me along with him to work. I had been there a hundred times and had met most of the people that he worked with but that didn't mean it was very entertaining. At that time I was actually hoping to spend the evening at home. My back had been bothering me for most of the day and I felt like I could sleep all day, both things I was used to but didn't really enjoy. We had been there for only an hour when the rain started, but it wasn't just a steady rain. It was raining so hard I could hardly see the streetlights and the wind was howling, lashing rain against the window panes. I knew we were going to be stuck there for awhile and that it was going to suck but there wasn't much else I could besides sit there. After another hour of doodling I decided I was going to go for a walk. "

_**Flashback **_

___Jenny sighed and leaned back in the uncomfortable office chair. She resigned herself to the fact that they were going to be stuck at NCIS for a few days. Jenny shifted in her chair and sighed again. Gibbs looked up from the files on his desk and studied his wife. _

_ "Are you alright, Jen?"_

_ "I'm fine, just bored. I'm going to walk around."_

_ Jenny heaved herself up and walked around the desk. Jenny had barely made it around the desk before the pain that had been focused in her back radiated through her stomach. A gasp of pain left her mouth and a hand flew to her bump. Gibbs jumped out of his seat in seconds and pulled Jenny close to him, grabbing her free hand in the process. When the pain ebbed away for the most part, Jenny looked up at Jethro terrified,_

_ "I think I'm in labor."_

_ Gibbs shook his head in disbelief, "Jen, you can't be we've still got a month."_

_ "Probie, have I taught you nothing? How many times have I told you to always be prepared?" Mike piped up from his desk._

_ "Not the time, Mike!" Gibbs said gruffly_

_ Mike sighed and looked at the couple. He could see how nervous they both were. He had been observing Jenny for almost 2 hours and he knew from the start it was going to be a long few days. At this point he kind of regretted calling Gibbs in, although he would never admit it. Mike slide his feet off his desk and stood up, "We had better go downstairs and see Ducky. There is no way we are going to get out of here tonight. You better hope this is just a fluke."_

_ After a long journey down 5 flights of stairs and one contraction later, the trio entered thru the sliding doors of autopsy. Ducky looked up from his desk when the doors opened and quickly stood when he saw how Jenny was clutching tightly to Gibbs' side. Mike spoke before either Jethro or Jenny, "Jenny's in labor."_

_ "Let me guess that the weather has gotten to severe to go out into?" Ducky asked_

_ Mike nodded grimly, "There is no way we can get any vehicle outta here and an ambulance wouldn't waste its resources on a healthy lady havin' a baby."_

_ Ducky looked thoughtful for a second, "There is no reason that I couldn't deliver the baby here. I've delivered quite a few babies in my day and we have all the supplies that are needed to deliver a child safely. Now my dear, how long do you think you've been in labor?"_

_ "I don't know. My backs been bothering me all day, more so than usually, but I've only had like 4 real contractions." Jenny answered almost inaudibly._

_ "I'm assuming that we are going to have quite a while before any real action begins so we should get you comfortable." Ducky said grabbing Jenny's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Ducky could tell that she was scared about the situation, which was to be expected, but he didn't want her blood pressure to spike too much. He wanted her as relaxed as the situation allowed._

_ Before anyone could do anything the lights flickered and they were submerged into darkness. Ducky was the first to say something, "Just give the generator a second. The power in autopsy always has to be running."_

_ Just as Ducky said the generator kicked in and the lights flickered back on albeit much dimmer than before but at least there was lights. Ducky led Jenny to his office chair and helped her into it._

_ "We will go grab some things, just try and relax." Ducky said as he grabbed Mike and headed into his office behind the heavy silver door leaving Jenny and Jethro alone._

_ Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and started to pace back and forth in front of Jenny. Bu he quickly came to a halt when Jenny let out a whimper of pain as her stomach cramped up. Gibbs crouched in front of his wife and took her hands in his._

_ "Jethro, I'm scared." Jenny admitted almost inaudibly._

_ Gibbs sighed and pulled her into a hug, "Everything is going to be just fine Jen, I promise. Ducky is the best doctor out there." _

_ "I have complete faith in Ducky. It's just that I don't think I can do this."_

_ Gibbs was rather shocked by what Jenny had just voiced and he wasn't quite sure what to say._

_ "You are the strongest woman I've met and I know you can do this." Gibbs said before kissing her softly on the lips._

_**End Flashback**_

"That was one of the longest nights of my life." Gibbs said without thinking

"Really those 21 hours were long for you?" Jenny asked with a raised eyebrow and skeptical glance.

Gibbs held his hands up in defense, "You know that's not what I meant, Jen. It's not like I enjoy seeing you in pain."

"Wait, you were in labor for 21 hours? Is that normal?" Ziva asked completely in shock. She was a well read woman, but there were just some things she had no idea about, childbearing be one of them.

"It is actually quite normal, my dear. Labor lengths vary for from woman to woman. In general labor is longer for the first child, but there are a ton of factors that work into the whole process. In Jennifer's case, I assume that her labor was longer because it was a very stressful situation." Ducky enlightened.

"That was a very un climactic ending." Abby pouted

Jenny smiled, "Trust me you do not want to know the details. You will never want to have kids if you know them."

Gibbs looked at Kate and Tony before turning to Jenny and whispering in her ear, "Maybe if you told them it would scare Tony and Kate and keep them from having sex."

Jenny laughed and kissed his cheek, "I'm sorry sweetie but I don't think that's going to stop them. You know as well as I do that once you start you can't stop."

Gibbs sent Jenny a horrified look which sent her into more spasms of laughter.

Kate rolled her eyes at her parents, sometimes they were even to gooey and mushy for her, "Are you going to at sum up the story? If you leave it the way it is its just awkward."

Jenny was quiet for a moment before answering, "When I held you in my arms for the first time everything seemed to melt away. It didn't matter that I had just given birth in autopsy during a hurricane or that I felt too young to be a mother. You were perfect and healthy and that's what mattered."

Gibbs knew how talking about Kate's birth always left Jenny a little sad. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. Jenny turned and flashed her husband a grateful smile.

"Why didn't you have any more kids?" Abby asked with curious innocence.

Gibbs felt Jenny tense beside him and quickly scolded Abby, "Abby…."

"What?" Abby asked confused

Gibbs just shook his head and signed something discreetly. Abby nodded her head in understanding and fell quiet. The quiet that fell over the group was broken when a cell phone started ringing. Abby answered her phone and stepped away from the group. A few minutes later Abby rushed back to the group with a wide smile.

"So you guys know that new club my friend opened?" Abby waited for everyone's nod of remembrance, "Well he just called me and said he has a VIP room open if we want it."

Kate immediately stood up, pulling Tony with her, "We're in!"

McGee and Ziva said they were in as well.

Kate turned to her parents and "grandfather", "You guys should come with us. Mom you can do birthday shots." Kate said excitedly

"Thank you for the offer sweetie. But a night at home with your father will do me some good."

"Ew, mom that's gross!"

Jenny just rolled her eyes.

Gibbs ushered everyone inside so he could figure out where and what they were doing. Jenny watched her family go inside and quickly took a shaky sip of her red wine. Ducky stood and took Jethro's seat next to Jenny, and squeezed her hand in a fatherly way.

"I'm glad I told everyone about Kate's birth, but every time I talk about it I realize how stupid I was. How by throwing myself into my career, I lost so much." Jenny admitted softly

"My dear, it's still not too late."

"Not too late?" Jenny questioned before it dawned on her, "Ducky, you're not serious."

"Neither you nor Jethro are old. Women 10 years your senior are still having babies."

"After what happened last time, I don't think I can try again." Jenny said her voice breaking

Ducky pulled Jenny close to him, "Jennifer listen very closely to me. What happened 9 years ago was an accident. You were a field agent back then, you're the Director now and work is a much safer environment, for the most part it's just office work and politics. Just talk to Jethro about it. I should get going mothers nurse must think I've disappeared."

The pair stood and hugged. Jenny kissed Ducky's cheek affectionately.

"I'll see you at work Monday morning. Have a good rest of your birthday, my dear. And please talk to Jethro."

Jenny watched Ducky enter through the French doors before she sank into her chair. Jenny finished the rest of her red wine and sighed. She didn't know if she was ready for another baby, but this might be her last chance to try again, after all she wasn't getting any younger. Jenny sighed again and rested a hand on her flat abdomen. She wanted this, but she didn't even know where to start with explaining this to Jethro.

Gibbs locked the front door behind his friend and wandered back to the French doors leading into the backyard. But paused in the arch way and just stood and observed his wife. He knew something was bothering her but Ducky telling him he needed to talk to her worried him slightly. He didn't even know what to expect.

Jenny jumped when Jethro plopped down next to her on the bench and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders pulling her close to his side.

"Did everyone get out alright?" Jenny asked quietly

"Yep," Jethro answered, "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

"There's nothing bothering me." Jenny said feebly, trying to stall.

"Jenny, you know you can't lie to me so why even bother?"

"I want another baby." Jenny said coming straight out with it.

Gibbs was completely floored. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. A baby…. What was he supposed to say to that? He loved being a dad and Kate was the center of his world, but she was leaving the nest, did they really need to start from scratch again? While Gibbs was contemplating what to say, Jenny was taking his silence the wrong way.

Jenny watched her husband go completely quiet. A few tears rolled down her pale cheeks before she brushed them away and abruptly stood causing Gibbs to come to his senses. He stood and grabbed her arms before she could get to far and pulled her close to his chest, her tears wetting his shoulder.

He ran a comforting hand along her back and her hair, "I didn't mean to make it seem like I didn't want to have another baby. You just completely shocked me that's all. I think we should try again but we have to set up ground rules. We have to try not to stress about it. If it happens it happens."

Jenny nodded her head and pulled away slightly. Gibbs brushed a few tears off of her cheeks before kissing her with fervor.

Jenny smiled luminously, "We are going to try for another baby."

"Yes we are and you know what they always say: practice makes perfect." Gibbs said smiley mischievously before leading Jenny into the house.

**TBC**

**I totally plan on writing more! I just can't promise you it's going to be super soon. Senior year and college choices are kicking my butt!**

**Please review your comments mean a ton to me. I'm also up for suggestions on the next story as well as other stories**

**Have a Happy Holidays!**


End file.
